After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Am in a Relationship with My Scummy Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother - Chapter 9

It was already Saturday, and there were only three days left until next Tuesday. The news of Huo Qingzhuo and Shen Junfu’s falling out and their bet on the upcoming competition had spread like wildfire throughout the school. The former trio had completely splintered into three loners.

During lunch, Huo Qingzhuo sat alone on the rooftop. Having finished her lunch box, she stared blankly into the distance like a porcelain doll without a soul.

“Host, the plot has deviated too much now, and the Plot Correction System has gone missing. I need to return to headquarters to report the situation and request assistance. Is that alright?”

007 had spent the entire night thinking with its none-too-flexible brain after hearing what Huo Qingzhuo said last night, finally deciding to seek help from headquarters.

“And if I say no?” Snapping out of her trance, Huo Qingzhuo leaned back on her hands, tilting her head back to stretch her neck and answering 007 with her eyes closed.

Caught between its host and its duties, 007 was somewhat conflicted. “Host, this is my duty. Please do not make things difficult for the system. Otherwise, withholding information is a serious offense. Furthermore, the headquarters’ methods of handling problems aren’t as direct or crude as the plot itself; they won’t threaten the host’s life.”

“It’s not like I could stop you anyway. Go ahead, and give me some peace and quiet while you’re at it.” Huo Qingzhuo’s voice carried a hint of drowsiness and exhaustion; she had more important things to do next.

“Take care, Host.”

007 temporarily unbound itself from Huo Qingzhuo and flew out of her mind. Taking one last look at her, the entire system vanished into the void.

Watching 007 disappear, Huo Qingzhuo turned her gaze toward the ethereal sky and, for the first time, took the initiative to speak to the original soul of the body in her mind.

“You died once and have now started over, so you must know something, right? If you died, the plot should have been normal. Why is it repeating?” Closing her eyes, Huo Qingzhuo had basically adapted to the presence of the original host.

“What plot? It seems… it is a repeat, but what plot?” The original host “looked” at Huo Qingzhuo with a face full of confusion.

She knew nothing at all? Huo Qingzhuo was somewhat surprised, but thinking about it, since the original host might only exist based on resentment, she might be unable to think normally.

“Then let me ask you, why do you want revenge on Shen Junfu? Isn’t it because you liked her, but she ended up with Wei Qingqing? And then someone kidnapped Wei Qingqing but accidentally took you instead, leading to your death?”

Huo Qingzhuo realized that her preconceived notions might have caused her to overlook certain things.

“Shen Junfu and Wei Qingqing? What does that have to do with Wei Qingqing? Shen Junfu and Wei Qingqing weren’t together. And I didn’t like Shen Junfu! It was that psychopath Shen Junfu who locked me up and tortured me. In the end, while I was escaping, I accidentally fell off a cliff. Why would you think I liked her?”

The original host frowned deeply. Even though the events had passed, she still felt a lingering fear when remembering them.

Huo Qingzhuo: “???”

There was nothing but a row of question marks in Huo Qingzhuo’s mind now. Wasn’t this supposed to be an ordinary campus romance? How did… a psychopathic killer get involved? The “vicious female supporting character” in a civilized society was actually killed by the protagonist? What was going on?

Originally, Huo Qingzhuo felt that 007 was dispensable, but now she desperately hoped 007 would hurry back.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Huo Qingzhuo stood up and headed downstairs.

The original host had no reason to lie. Since Shen Junfu had shown such unstable tendencies before, she might not be safe now either.

Thinking of Wei Qingqing, Huo Qingzhuo went to the classroom first, but unfortunately, no one was there. She then went to the cafeteria and searched for two rounds before finally spotting Wei Qingqing in a corner.

Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, she saw Shen Junfu walking toward Wei Qingqing. In a panic, Huo Qingzhuo quickened her pace and grabbed Wei Qingqing just as she stood up, beating Shen Junfu to her.

“I want to go for a walk on the playground. Qingqing, will you come with me?” Huo Qingzhuo acted as if she didn’t see Shen Junfu standing beside them, intending to lead Wei Qingqing away.

“Heh, Huo Qingzhuo, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

Shen Junfu saw it clearly; Huo Qingzhuo had obviously seen her there and hurried over to take Wei Qingqing away. No one would believe it wasn’t intentional.

In truth, looking at the Shen Junfu before her now, Huo Qingzhuo found it impossible to link her to the killer the original host described. However, it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Do you want to come along? Let’s go then.”

Huo Qingzhuo deliberately provoked Shen Junfu. Generally, with Shen Junfu’s arrogant nature, she wouldn’t agree.

“Fine, let’s go!” Shen Junfu agreed quite bluntly.

Huo Qingzhuo: …I miscalculated.

The students of Shengguan High School noticed that the trio was back together, but it was different from before. Although the three were walking together, the atmosphere was incredibly awkward.

Wei Qingqing, walking between the two, couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke up to break the eerie silence. “Um… both of you plan to sign up for the opening ceremony, right? Have you thought about what to perform?”

“Whatever, I’m fine with anything.”

Huo Qingzhuo really hadn’t decided what to perform yet, but having been in the entertainment industry in her past life, she could handle singing and various instruments. Except for dancing, she could basically do anything, so there was no need to worry.

“Talking big like that, aren’t you afraid of embarrassing yourself?”

Ever since Shen Junfu started disliking Huo Qingzhuo, she had been keen on making trouble for her and throwing cold water on her plans.

No matter how much Huo Qingzhuo told herself not to lower herself to a child’s level, she couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing this. “Why don’t we go to the piano room and see for ourselves?”

“You’re on!” Shen Junfu wasn’t backing down either.

Wei Qingqing: …Please let me go.

In the end, however, the competition didn’t happen because Huo Qingzhuo received a friend request from Shu Yueqing.

Looking at the message on her phone, the corners of Huo Qingzhuo’s mouth curved slightly. She looked at Shen Junfu and said, “No need to compete. Consider it your win.”

“Huo Qingzhuo, what do you mean by that!”

Leaving behind the fuming Shen Junfu, Huo Qingzhuo pulled Wei Qingqing along and hurried back to the dormitory.

Wei Qingqing didn’t know what these two were up to. After returning to the dorm, Huo Qingzhuo didn’t say anything; she just took her phone to the balcony, leaving Wei Qingqing no chance to ask questions.

Holding her phone, Huo Qingzhuo clicked ‘Accept’ on the friend request. Looking at the new chat box, she felt happy and sent a cute puppy emoji.

[Shu Yueqing: Was there something you wanted to talk about when you called yesterday? Why did you stop halfway?]

Recalling yesterday’s events, Huo Qingzhuo’s smile flattened. She wanted to ask Shu Yueqing about her relationship with Shen Junfu right now, but she knew she had no standing to do so. She could only make up an excuse.

[Huo Qingzhuo: It was nothing. The teacher started the lesson yesterday, so I had to hang up. Thank you for checking in.]

[Huo Qingzhuo: (Behaving Well.jpg)]

…

No reply.

Huo Qingzhuo stared expectantly at her phone. She thought Shu Yueqing might not believe her, might press for more details, or might just ignore it, but she never expected Shu Yueqing would simply not reply.

Ten minutes passed, then twenty. Huo Qingzhuo wasn’t even in the mood to wash up. She crawled from the balcony to her bed, staring at those two simple lines of dialogue, scrolling through them dozens of times, but no new message arrived.

After half an hour, Huo Qingzhuo finally gave up, burying her face in her pillow to suppress the urge to call and ask. She knew she didn’t yet have the ability to make Shu Yueqing treat her differently, but one day, she would achieve it.

In fact, Shu Yueqing didn’t ignore the message on purpose. She was simply used to not wasting words. Like handling work, once a question was asked and answered, there was no need for further idle talk.

Unfortunately, Shu Yueqing forgot that while her employees knew her habits, Huo Qingzhuo did not.